The election is over in Brazil, and an overdue election in Venezuela may finally be on the horizon.
In Brazil, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was reelected with a reported 51.8% of the vote. Lula’s opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, declined to concede and is calling for the election results to be thrown out.
In Venezuela, a long anticipated election in 2027 is likely a step closer to occurring, as opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to the country after fleeing in the wake of former President Nicolás Maduro’s removal by the U.S. in January 2026. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez had been serving as Maduro’s vice president and was temporarily installed as the nation’s leader after his ouster. However, Rodríguez has now exceeded the time her interim title was to last. Machado’s return sets up a likely electoral clash between the two leaders to determine the country’s next elected president.
Analysis and eternal perspective: Civilization is not at state in these elections. This opening is no longer a surprise to you, but it is still true. As we reiterate it a third time, let us underscore again that how we steward governance—including who we elect—matters! It does.
Proverbs 29:2 says it plainly: “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” That’s pretty straightforward, and it’s significant! We should care about whether people are thriving or groaning, and whether governing structures point toward flourishing or flailing. But the best way to care about and invest in those things is not to point people toward a solution that cannot sustain them, and pointing them to the next election does exactly that.
Instead, take inspiration from Jeremiah 29 and invest in the “peace and prosperity” (v. 7) of your temporary community, nation, and world, and do it mindful that it will often be a place of exile as you wait for God to come and fulfill His good promise (v. 10).
Here’s the fun part: The most effective way for you to impact your current world and home is to fully realize and operate in an understanding that it is a temporary assignment. As you journey toward a new heaven and a new earth, you are blessed with this beautiful place to steward. But it should not be the embodiment of your hope. That place in your spirit belongs rightfully only to your Maker, and when you walk with this clarity, your impact in the here and now is dramatically more profound!